( 252 .) 
CATABROSA* *. 
Linnean Class and Order. Tria'ndria-|-, Digy'nia. 
Natural Order. GRAMi'NEyE, Juss. Gen. PI. p. 28. — Sm.Gram. 
of Bot. p. 86. ; Engl. FI. v.i. p. 71. — Lindl. Syn. p. 293. ; Introd. 
to Nat. Syst. of Bot. p. 292. — Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 393. — Loud. 
Hort. Brit. p. 542. — Gramina, Linn. — Graminales; sect. Fes- 
tijcinaj ; type, Avenace^e , Burn. Outl. of Bot. v. i. pp. 359 
and 369. 
Gen. Char. Panicle loose, spreading. Spikelets (fig. 1.) 2- 
flowered. Calyx (fig. 2.) of 2, truncate (very blunt), unequal, 
membranaceous glumes ( valves J, much shorter than the florets 
(see fig. 1.). Corolla (see fig. 3.) of 2, nearly equal, ribbed, trun- 
cated, awnless, coriaceous palea ( valves J, membranous only at the 
extremity ; the upper free from the lower. Filaments (see fig. 3.) 
3, hair-like. Anthers prominent, pendulous, notched at each end. 
Germen (see fig. 4.) egg-shaped. Styles (see fig. 4.) short, distinct. 
Stigmas (see fig. 4.) feathery, large. Seed (fig. 5.) egg-shaped, 
loose, covered with the membranous corolla. 
The 2-flowered spikelets; the calyx of 2 truncated, unequal 
glumes, much shorter than the florets ; and the corolla of 2, very 
blunt, nearly equal palece ; will distinguish this from other genera, 
with a loose spreading panicle, in the same class and order. 
One species British. 
CATABRO'SA AQUA'TICA. Water Sweet-grass. Water 
Whorl-grass. 
Spec. Char. Panicle with whorled patent branches, leaves 
broadly strap-shaped, blunt. 
Lindl. Syn. p. 306.— Hook. Brit. FI. p.34. — Bab. FI. Bath. p. 59. — Mack. FI. 
Hibern. p.299. — Catabrosia aqucitica, Gray’s Nat. Arr. v. ii. p. 133.— Aira 
■aquatica, Engl. Bot. 1. 1557. — Curt. FI. Lond. t. . — Knapp’s Gram. Brit, 
t. 29. — Host. Gram. Austr. v. ii. p. 30. t. 41.— Graves’ Brit. Grasses, t. 40 — 
Linn. Sp. Pl.p.95. — Huds. FI. Angl. (2nd ed.) p. 33. — Willd.Sp. PI. v.i. pt. r. 
p. 376. — Sm. FI. Brit. v. i. p. 84. Engl. FI. v. i. p. 101. — With. (7th ed.) v. iL 
p. 160. — Lightf. FI. Scot. v. i. p. 94. — Sibth. FI. Oxon. p. 38. — Abbot’s FI. Bedh 
p. 15. — Davies’ Welsh Bot. p. 9. — Purt. Midi. FI. v. i. p. 74. — Relh. FI. Cant. 
(3rd edit.) p. 31. — Sind. Hort. Gram. Wob. p. 351. — Hook. FI. Scot. p. 29. — 
Grev. FI. Edin. p. 19. — Johnston’s FI. of Berw. v. i. p. 20. — Winch’s FI. of 
Northumb. and Durham, p.5. — Walker’s FI. of Oxf. p. 19. — Perry’s PI. Varv. 
Select®, p. 8. — Mack. Catal. of PI. of Ireland, p. 12. — Poa dulcis, Salisb. Prod, 
p. 20. — Gramen miliaceum aquaticum, Ray’s Syn. p. 402. 
Localities. — I n wet ditches, and on the margins of pools, rivers, &c .; uot 
uncommon. 
Perennial. — Flowers in May, June, and July. 
Fig. 1. A Spikelet. — Fig. 2. The two Glumes of the Calyx. — Fig. 3. The two 
Florets taken out of the Calyx. — Fig. 4. The Germen and Pistils. — Fig. 5. A Seed. — 
All, except fig. 5, more or less magnified. 
* From katabrosis, Gr. a gnawing ; from the erose extremity of the glumes. 
Hooker. + See folio 56, note +. 
t From the sweet taste of the young shoots. The flowers also have a sweet taste 
if drawn through the mouth ; whence this grass has acquired the name of dulce. 
